What's Your Favourite Food Aroma?

Meg Hughes Fri, Apr 8, 2016

Sausage sizzles, Grandma’s pantry or the lolly counter at your childhood local Deli…Smells have the power to transport us back in time to relive emotions and events long after we’ve forgotten the instantaneous detail.

There’s plenty of science to say that stimulating our olfactory senses helps us file away even those apparently insignificant memories for our reminiscing pleasure in years to come. Food aromas in particular have the power to create positive and long-lasting associative memories, which can actually affect our moods and shape our taste preferences according to our individual life experiences.

Heck, there’s even a branch of supermarket psychology dedicated to piping bakery and floral fragrances around to entrance ways, enticing us to stay longer and stack our trolleys higher.

Not all aromas are created equal, though, for despite the strong personal associations we build, certain scents do seem to enjoy enduring popularity - think oven-baked cookies or bacon on the grill.

So do you have an all-time favourite, or are you the whimsical type? Are we a nation of individuals with our own uniquely-shaped tastes and preferences, or do some of these popular food scents get your 2 cents?

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